Best for sound design
The Blood of Dawnwalker
5.0 attribute score
Highest scored product for this attribute based on supporting review evidence.
Best Bandai Namco Video Games for sound design
sound design Decision Dashboard
Safest pick
Cronos: The New Dawn
5.0 attribute score
Balances the attribute score, supporting reviews, and overall product strength.
Most evidence
Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve
11 supporting reviews
Has the broadest review evidence for this attribute.
Best overall product
Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition
4.2 overall score
Strongest overall product among items with scored evidence for this attribute.
Audio is a clear strength, with impactful combat sounds and haunting musical textures reinforcing the game’s dark-fantasy mood.
Pros: combat system, fun factor
Cons: content variety, polish
Sound design was one of the strongest areas, repeatedly praised for unsettling effects, directionality, ambience, and its role in horror tension.
Pros: combat system, narrative quality
Cons: boss design, puzzle design
Sound design is praised for impact, authenticity, and anime-like effects.
Pros: combat system, accessibility options
Cons: narrative quality, matchmaking quality
Sound design was strongly praised for syncing with art, building tension, and enhancing atmosphere.
Pros: atmosphere, faithfulness to franchise
Cons: puzzle design, co-op experience
The soundscape is praised for reinforcing loneliness, menace, and the weight of combat. Handheld speakers can sound thinner, but the underlying audio design remains strong.
Pros: performance optimization, frame rate stability
Cons: controller ergonomics, platform-specific feature support
General sound presentation receives less attention than the music; where discussed, it ranges from lackluster ambient soundscape criticism to solid combat presentation.
Pros: fun factor, narrative quality
Cons: boss design, exploration quality
Jet engines, sonic booms, missiles, explosions, and radio mixing give the combat unusually strong physical impact.
Pros: narrative quality, fun factor
Cons: dialogue quality, difficulty balance
Sound design was generally praised as strong and in line with Elden Ring quality.
Pros: co-op experience, fun factor
Cons: difficulty balance, social features
Sound design received positive notes for memorable effects and environmental detail, with one small caveat around missing ride sounds.
Pros: progression system, narrative quality
Cons: pacing, content variety
Sound design was positively linked to the anime feel in one review.
Pros: combat system, companion AI
Cons: open-world design, movement feel
Audio opinions are mixed: battle effects can be excellent, but some remaster versions have distracting menu mixing or unusually loud effects.
Pros: narrative quality, combat system
Cons: remake/remaster quality, value for money
Sound design is uneven. Effects and music can be crisp and immersive, but English voice compression, muffled clips, and occasional mixing problems are repeated complaints.
Pros: combat system, remake/remaster quality
Cons: animation quality, environmental detail